It doesn’t really matter what your audience is, whether it be real estate, fitness or social services – if you are going to make an informative video and publish it on your blog, there are a few little secrets to success. Do it well and do it often!
A Great Intro/Exit Screen
Invest in great intro/exit screens from a professional media designer and stay away from anything you think looks good. Supply your high resolution logo and tell them you want a clean modern font. More than likely what you like is the Comic Sans font and a picture of a dancing baby, so leave it to a professional and stay out the way! A great intro/exit screen screams professionalism and once you have this and a great font you can create the rest yourself.
Act Like a Pro
Even if you are a one person shop or a small team you can still shoot a video like a pro, you can even make it look like you have a whole production unit in play. Shooting it in a style that looks like you are being interviewed makes you look important, it gives you a certain gravitas! So ditch the webcam mode and act like a pro
Natural Lighting
Who really cares how many awards you have won (except maybe yourself) and no one looks good in front of a wall. So get yourself positioned beside a window with great natural light flowing in, maybe some plants or flowers behind you. Even better outdoors in a park, but that is more difficult with sound.
Keep it short
Keep each video under 3 minutes, right about the maximum attention span of your audience! Create a series of videos each with its own topic and go over in your head what you would like to say. No looking at notes, remember we want this to look like you are being interviewed and giving advice.
Corcoran Group Video New York
This group do it well, notice natural light/colors in the background, notice how it looks like she is being interviewed? (most likely by no-one) and notice how it is short and sweet.
What you need to get this right in Production
- Easel
- HD Camera (FlipHD or similar will do)
- Quiet Setting
- 30 minutes a week!
What you need to get this right in Post Production
- Computer or Laptop
- iMovie or Windows Movie Maker
- Photoshop Elements (For Screen Edits)